Snow, snow, & more snow

We are getting pounded with snow this weekend.  The weather has been calling for 10-15 inches today with 20-25 mph winds.  It's crazy!  Mike snowplowed this morning, but the driveway is covered again.  I was supposed to go to a craft fair, but thankfully, it shut down because of the crazy weather.  Glad we did the girls' birthday last weekend.

The Girls' Birthday Party

The girls celebrated their birthday this past weekend with their friends & Mike's aunt L & uncle J.  Mike's parents were supposed to come up Saturday, but their plans got derailed by the crazy snow storm we got the day before.  To make matters worse, they got freezing rain the morning of the party.  Despite the bad luck with weather, the girls did get to see their grandparents on Sunday.

All of the girls' friends were able to come to their party, so that was nice for them.  We rented a Tumble Fun Bus to come right up to the house to entertain the kids.  It's this really cool school bus that has been completely gutted, padded, & equipped with some gymnastic equipment.  There's a zipline, ball pit, rings, bars, climbing mountain, & so forth.  The kids LOVED it!  It's such a great idea, especially for winter birthdays.

Tumble Fun Bus on our driveway!

After the Tumble Bus Fun, we had pizza for dinner, did Baylee's princess castle pinata, did the girls' birthday cakes, & open presents.  We got Grandma & Grandpa on Skype so they could watch the girls' blow out their candles.  The girls' made out with some really great presents!  Some of our friends chipped in & got us a family membership to the Children's Museum.  We'll look forward to using it, especially since it looks like a really long cold winter!

The two cakes--Baylee's princess cake & Livy's free 1 year cake from Lunds!

Daddy helping B blow out her candles.  It took them a little while...

Livy sampling her first piece of cake.

Baylee with her best girl friend from preschool, M.  M is just 8 days younger than B!

Baylee's princess wand

We did Christmas with Mike's family while they were up here.  Given that we've already had 20" of snow dumped on us & the girls' behavior in the car, it's highly unlikely we'd make it anywhere for the holidays.  I hope the girls don't think the entire month of December is a present fest!

Happy Birthday Baylee!

Baylee is 3 today!  I can't believe it--it seems like yesterday when we were rushing off to the hospital because my water broke.  Miss Birthday Girl spent the morning at preschool with her friends & shared cupcakes with her classmates.  She had a great day at school, playing with her bff M, & got to pick 2 books out as a present.  We're looking forward to having our family & friends over this weekend for a birthday blowout for the girls.

I just realized I haven't updated in a while.  We've been down on our luck in the health department.  The girls got a stomach bug, which they gladly shared with us.  Mike had pneumonia & the bug.  Livy gave me a cold & the doctor just gave me some antibiotics because the cold became a sinus infection.  We're just a sickly bunch this year.  Here's hoping the new year brings us good health!

Other than that, I throughly enjoyed my spa weekend over Thanksgiving weekend.  I went up to Grand View Lodge in Nisswa, MN.  It's about 2 1/2 hours from the Twin Cities.  The resort is right on Gull Lake,  & would be beautiful during the fall.  I just enjoyed sleeping in & relaxing.  The girls were pretty good for Mike, so I'll have to do another getaway in the spring.  :)

Our December calendar is quickly filling up.  The girls have lots of friends with birthdays coming up, so our weekends will be busy!  Good thing is that it makes the winter months pass by quickly.

I Can't Believe It's Almost Thanksgiving

We finally got our first snow fall in MN.  Last year, we got snow in October, but it quickly melted & was a pleasant November.  This year, it looks like winter is upon us already.

Things have been pretty routine for us here.  Mike had pneumonia for a while.  Thank goodness, pneumonia is very hard to catch, but the rest of us managed to stay healthy.  Mike's finally on the up & up thanks to some antibiotics & codeine laced cough medicine.

Baylee is doing FABULOUS in preschool these days.  No tears, transitions well between activities, & she's been playing with her new BFF Makayla at preschool.  Makayla happens to be 8 days younger than B.  Ironically, Makayla's younger sister Kelsey is 8 days younger than Livy!  It's very cute.  On the bright side, I've been getting Baylee to nap almost every other day.  They aren't short naps either; they're good 3 hour naps.  Baylee knows better than to mess with mom about sleep!

I've been teaching Livy a few "tricks" since my last post.  Livy can now do a "high five," blow a kiss, & give kisses.  Today she took 10 really quick steps.  Mike might be right & she may be walking before her 1st birthday!  I think she will be an earlier talker too.  In the past week, it seems like she's a little bit more independent, or at least doesn't need me to hold her 24/7.  Now, if only I could get her to sleep like her big sister.

I've been planning the girls' birthday, preparing for a craft show, & plotting a break for myself.  The OB diagnosed me with postpartum depression.  I'm not depressed by the traditional definition.  PPD for me is mostly an exhaustion & guilt issue.  I'm tired because Baylee is a demanding 2 year old & Livy is a needy baby.  On most days, I'm a high functioning depressed person.  I definitely did not anticipate how hard having 2 kids 2 years apart would be.  Mike thinks my expectations as a wife & mother are too high.  Right now, I'm taking Zoloft & seeing a therapist.  The medication is to get me out of the rut & to help me focus on the big picture vs. freaking out over the little things.  The therapist is to help me figure out how to ask for help when I need it.  Hopefully things get better soon.  I did just book my Thanksgiving getaway to the spa, so I will have 2 blissful nights of sleeping in & enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning.  I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that Mike can handle both girls on his own for those 2 days.  :P

Livy Taking Baby Steps & Princess Baylee

Livy took 2 steps today while we were at Baylee's parent-teacher conference!  She took a small step the day before, but I don't think she realized it.  Livy also said "bye bye" & waved (hand to her face of course) to bye bye to Miss Rosie when we left.  Big milestones.  I think Livy may talk earlier than Baylee.  Or at least she's figured out that she needs to be pretty vocal to overcome big sister's personality!

Baylee's preschool evaluation went well.  She has excellent gross motor skills, but we need to help her with fine motor skills like using scissors.  I think B knows more than she's letting Miss Rosie in on.  She did shapes & colors with flying colors, but I didn't get a good evaluation on numbers & letters.  Baylee does know the letter B, but we need to work on other letters & numbers.  She's counted to 14 for me, but wouldn't even count to 3 for Miss Rosie.  She did do good tracing shapes, but I think she got bored or distracted after doing 3.  Socially, she's doing MUCH better than when she started.  Not perfect, but infinitely better.

On the bright side, both girls are napping this afternoon.  :)  I just got an order for 6 necktie applique tee shirts, so I should take advantage of the downtime.

Baylee modeling her princess shoes

Halloween Fun 2010

This year for Halloween we went over to Baylee & Livy's friends R & G's house.  They have a good neighborhood for little kids to trick-or-treat in & lots of cul de sacs.  Last year, B didn't really get trick-or-treating, but this year was she in to it!  After the first house, she was chanting "trick-or-treat" in between houses.  She would ring the doorbell & if the person didn't come to the door fast enough, she would start pounding on the door.  If that didn't work, then she would try to open the front door!  All for a piece of candy.  Livy calmly followed her older sister around in the carrier.

Here are some pictures from that night:

Can you see the glee in her eyes?

Playing ball with S.  S has taken an interest in Livy.  He likes to pet Livy's hair.

Sharing the drum with her bff, J.

Livy looking chubby.

The girls climbing up on daddy.  Baylee thought the bucket would make a nice hat.